It's Not All Bad
by SherlockDW
Summary: When a broken young Bilbo Baggins comes face-to-face with Traders, he doesn't expect to make eye contact with two curious looking dwarf brothers. And he certainly didn't expect to take both of them home. Dark pasts filled with death and kidnapping are uncovered and shared. Lives are mended and a family is made. But not without a few bumps along the way. Slave!AU Eventual Quest!
1. This Is Unexpected

**A/N: This is a complete AU where Bilbo is around 20 during this story and was allowed to have possession of Bag-End. I'll leave you to guess who the dwarves are :D**

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It was winter when _they_ had arrived. _They_ always came. Every winter. With more of them in tow. '_They_' were Slave Traders Bilbo Baggins had grown to hate and detest. They had been coming to the Shire for over twenty years, since he was a child and before his mother and father died. Came and went they did and Bilbo noticed that the ones they would- he shuddered- _sell_ would seemingly get thinner and thinner. Wearing nothing but rags over skin and bones to shield them from the winter.

_Oh, they were ex-criminals and Thieves and Murderers!_ The Sellers would claim every year and everybody knew that was a lie. They were just too scared to question it. Because if you did, you tended to go missing, never to be seen again. Nobody talked about it.

Bilbo would always avoid them when they stopped in Hobbiton. As if any of the hobbits would buy a slave. But this year was different.

Bilbo Baggins wasn't aware the Traders had come earlier this year, so much so he had walked into them on his way to the Hobbiton Market. Slap-bang in the middle of the marketplace, they had set up some sort of a stage to display their… _goods_. As usual, the ones those were for sale wore barely anything so anyone could see how thin they were and scars from punishments. Bilbo shivered, and it wasn't from the cold.

He turned his nose from them and paid his attention to gathering the supplies he needed as fast as he could.

"You, sir!" Bilbo froze, his hand half-way to picking a fresh apple.

_They weren't talking to him, were they?_

"Yes, you! Fine, sir! The one with the golden locks and the fine waistcoat!"

_They _were_ talking to him_.

Bilbo gritted his teeth and he dropped his hand and turned towards the sellers, a glint in their eyes.

"Yes! You look like a fine hobbit!"

"I'm not interested in your _goods_" Bilbo spat the last word out like it brought a foul odour into the air

"Oh but you don't quite know what we have here!"

"I know perfectly well what you have to offer, trader, and I tell you again; I am not interested."

"But we have dwarves!" the hobbit paused. The dwarves were from the blue mountain, weren't they? What were dwarves doing in the hands of slave traders? "I see _that_ got your attention" the seller sneered, ducking his hat just over his eyes. Bilbo folded his arms, trying to show he was unimpressed.

The seller with the hat indicated for the slaves waiting on the side to come one by one onto the stage. Rage bubbled in the Baggins' stomach at the utter _state_ of them all. Humans and Hobbits; there was barely anything wrapped around them to cover their dignity and they were filthy! And so thin! You could see every last one of their ribs and their hip bones were prominent on their waist. It took all of his willpower not to throw up there and then.

He looked up and his blue eyes finally landed on the two hunched over and slightly larger forms. They were in the same condition as their fellow slaves, if not worse. One was blonde (At least Bilbo _thought_ he was, his hair was too dirty to even tell. It could have been black for all he knew) and the other a brunette. These must be the dwarves. Immediately, Baggins noticed that there seemed to be a bond between them. The blonde stood protectively of the smaller brown-haired one that he assumed they were related by blood. Brothers perhaps.

"Let the bidding begin!" a second seller exclaimed and the hobbit crowd around the stage glared at him. As if a hobbit would partake in such a monstrous act.

And that's how it began.

One by one each slave was brought to the front of the stage, humiliated and disgraced. Nobody dared bid for any of them. Not even if they were their own kind. Then finally, the dwarves were forced to separate and the brunette was shoved forwards. He gazed at his bare feet, his matted, muddy hair casting a curtain around his glassy eyes.

"Come on folks!" the first vendor chided "I expected more from Hobbiton! This is a fine specimen you have here. A dwarf! Caught stealing a while ago and they sent him to us as punishment. He's a fine lad, strong. Capable of doing whatever task ya want!" Hobbits around cast their eyes away from the sight and focused on trivial things around them.

"Tch. Shame. He's goin' once." Bilbo saw the blonde dwarf's eyes widen

"Goin' twice"

"P-Please!" the blonde slave begged, catching the attention of onlookers "_Please_ take my brother!" he was promptly silenced by a back-hand. Bilbo flinched at the sound of flesh hitting flesh. So the dwarves _were_ brothers. He clenched his fists, glaring at the ground beneath his feet

"Going three times!

Aaaand unsol-"

"I'll take him!" a voice yelled and it took a few moments to finally realise the Bilbo was the one who had shouted it. He had raised a hand and stomped to the very front of the stage, glaring up at the seller and ignoring the shocked looks around him. "I'll take him" he repeated. It didn't take a master to notice the relief in the blonde's eyes but the fear in the brunettes as he was shoved to his place next to Bilbo and the rope attached to his neck thrust into Bilbo's hand

"N-No" the newly-bought slave whispered "M-My brother, I can't leave without my brother!" Bilbo looked at him with sympathy.

"I'm sorry, but I can't" he whispered and the brown-haired dwarf, who was actually taller than Bilbo thought, made a noise of anguish

"Please, you can't leave him with _them_. You _can't! _I beg of you, master!"

_Master?_

_Did the dwarf just call him _Master?

"The blonde one" Bilbo finally found himself saying, much to the seller and his slaves surprise "The blonde dwarf" he continued "How much is he?"

"Sorry, one slave a person 'specially if you're buying the only dwarves we have."

"_How much_?" Bilbo hissed critically

"More than you can pay" the seller sneered

"I will take. Both. Dwarves" Bilbo demanded "Or neither of them. It is your choice. You can part with your goods today or none at all"

"You can't actually expect-"

"I _will_ take the both of them, Sir." Bilbo said dangerously "Or I will walk away." He may have been small compared to the hat wearing human, but he was no less threatening. The seller tightened his jaw and jerked his head to another. The blonde dwarf was shoved off of the stage and to Bilbo's feet in a bony heap as Bilbo gave, more _threw_, the payment at the man who tipped his hat

"Pleasure doin' business with ya, sir" and then he was gone, taking the rest of poor unsold slaves with him. Bilbo looked at the ropes in his hands that bound the dwarf's hands together and wound around their necks like a leash. He couldn't believe he had just done that. He had partaken in the thing he had hated almost his entire life. He had bought another being.

Not only that, had he bought _two._

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**That's the first Chapter done! Thank you for reading and please Review your thoughts! (Constructive Criticisms please.)**

**This is my second official fanfiction in this fandom (My First is More Than Meets the Eye which is still a work in progress, please check it out!). Sorry for any missing punctuation and grammatical errors throughout the chapter.**


	2. Oh No

**A/N: Thanks for the support so far! Here's another chapter for you all!**

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Bilbo had thought it best to keep the bindings on the dwarves until they arrived at Bag-End; all the while promptly ignoring the stares and whispers that were sent his way from other Hobbits. He would never hear the end of this. Not even from Lobelia. He shook his head. No point thinking about it now, he convinced himself that he had done the right thing. He was aware that one of the dwarves, the blonde one, was having trouble walking and leant on his brother as they walked. Bilbo slowed his pace for their benefit.

The walk to his hobbit-hole took a little longer than it should have but Bilbo was too distracted in getting his new guests into Bag-End to care. He noticed how they both hesitated entering the hole and he paused to look at them.

"Come on in, it's alright" he coaxed "You are allowed to come in" the dwarves exchanged glances before taking a few steps inside, Bilbo closed the door behind them. There was still a tense atmosphere surrounding them all. He rushed into the living room and lit a fire so they were warm. Obviously they were cold; their shivers wouldn't convince him otherwise.

Bilbo's guests (He really ought to find out their names) lingered by the doorway and the hobbit, being the gentle hobbit his mouther and father had taught them to be, ushered the dwarves to sit down in front of the fire, undoing the ropes from their wrists quickly.

"Stay there, I'll go and get something that will warm you right up"

He left them, strangely trusting them enough to leave them on their own in his house, as he made tea and put some food together quickly. When he walked back in, trays in hand, his new guests hadn't even moved an inch. They stood, heads down and long hair covering their eyes, in the far corner of the living room. Bilbo poured them a cup of tea and handed them a plate each, boring a simple sandwich. It didn't take a keen eye to see how much the dwarves panicked when they food was placed in their hands.

"It's alright" he soothed "You can eat" they stayed still and Bilbo gritted his teeth. This was worse than he thought "You are allowed to eat" _still_ they did not move. What on Middle-Earth had those traders _done_ to them?

"Why won't you eat?" Bilbo whispered and they both stiffened at the question as they exchanged looks behind hooded masks

"We…" the blonde finally spoke for the first time since Bilbo had… _acquired_ him. "We are not allowed to eat."

"Why not?" Bilbo's curiosity got the better of him.

He was still young. Very young in Hobbit standards, too young to even be on his own, yet alone own Bag-End to himself. 26 in less than a month. (Not that he cared, anyway) When his mother and father died a few years ago, Bag-End was passed down to him, much to Lobelia and Otho Sackville Baggins' anger. They insisted they take over Bag-End until Bilbo was of age (Knowing them, they wouldn't give it back). The Took side of Bilbo's family refused to give it to them so Bilbo was left with it, despite being only the age of 20. His Took cousins took care for him until he finally decided he wanted to live on his own. It was a decision he hadn't regretted since.

"We… aren't allowed to eat until Master does" the blonde slave finally replied quietly, ducking his head down as if he were expecting a blow of some sort.

"I ate earlier; there is no harm in you having a meal now"

"You do not understand Master! We are not allowed to eat before you!" the brunette spoke up before he covered his mouth and ducked his head down, shaking with what appeared to be… tears? Why was he crying?

"I-" Bilbo said, moving so he would place a soothing hand on the younger dwarves shoulder. The blonde one pushed him to a side

"Please, Master, spare my brother!" he began and Bilbo's head spun in confusion. Spare him? What was he talking about? "He did not mean to answer back. You may punish me in whatever way you may seem fit, but please, don't strike brother!"

"P-Punishment?" Bilbo stammered, a look of pure confusion on his face "No, no, there will be no punishment. To either of you." both of the dwarves seemed shocked

"N-No Punishment…?" the youngest one whispered, confused

"No! Of course not! Why would I punish you?" Bilbo scoffed, his face a look of disbelief

"T-Those are the rules..."

"Rules?" Bilbo frowned "Rules for what?"

"They are one of the rules all slaves m-must follow"

"And if you disobey?"

"You… You are… You are not seen again"

Bilbo couldn't believe what he was hearing. How many times had these boys been humiliated and disgraced? How many times had they been beaten until they were incapable of walking just so these rules could be bored into their minds?

"Eat." He said, shaking the thoughts from his mind. The dwarves were still stubborn "Well…" Bilbo bit his lip "I _order_ you to eat." He honestly didn't want to command them like that but if they refused to do something as simple as that, then he had no idea on how long they would last in Bag-End itself.

Not that he was planning to kick them out.

Never.

They needed his help, and he was going to give it.

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Bilbo noticed how the moment he had uttered the word 'order' the dwarves had begun eating like it was the only thing they had eaten in a long, long time.

To be honest, it most likely was.

It wasn't long until the sandwiches were gone and the tea disappeared. Bag-End had grown warm and the brothers were looking slightly satisfied but on edge.

"Now, what are your names?" Bilbo said gently and the dwarves looked at their feet "You can tell me. I do need to know your names." Silence "_Surely_ you have names"

"Number three" the blonde mumbled

"Number seven" the brunette answered

They hadn't even been given _names_?!

"What about before?" the curly-haired hobbit wondered. They couldn't have been slaves for that long. They looked older than him!

"Before?" his guests looked honestly troubled

"Yes, before you were… how should I put it…?"

"Made slaves?" the younger guest supplied and the older nudged him

"Well… yes… I suppose" Bilbo said slowly, considering what he said closely

"My name was Fili" the blonde announced

"And Kili" the brunette said quietly

"At your service" they said in unison. Since they were still standing, they both bowed low

"But Master doesn't need to know our names" Fili said quickly

"And why shouldn't I?" Bilbo folded his arms and cocked his curly head

"Because they aren't important"

"Aren't important?!" Bilbo retorted, a little too loudly and startling the poor Kili in thinking that his brother was about to get slapped "Names are very important! They are the things that are given to you the moment you are born and stay with you until the moment you die. They _are_ you. They define who you are! All names are important."

"But not ours…" Kili whispered and Bilbo couldn't think of anything else to say

"You both seem tired" he began "Why don't you rest for a while?" The brothers nodded and began to shuffle outside. Bilbo realised, as they were half-way, that they were expecting to sleep _outside_.

"No, no, no!" Bilbo cried, padding into front of them and make their eyes widen in alarm at the fear they did something wrong

"We forgot to clean up!" Fili said, panicked "We're sorry, Master, we'll do it right away!" they began to rush into the living room before Bilbo could stop them and pick up their plates and cups. In their panic, Kili dropped on of the plates and it shattered on the floor. The dwarves froze, staring at the shattered plate on the floor.

Bilbo stood there, fixed in place. That was his mother's West Farthing Crockery. One of the last things he was left after his mother died. He didn't realise his fists were clenched and shaking when he heard the faint, terrified whisper from Fili

"Oh no."

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**Thanks for reading and the reaction so far to this story is brilliant! Thank you so much! Especially to those who have come over from More Than Meets The Eye!**

**Please, please review!**


	3. Just a Plate

**A/N: Over a thousand apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Literally I could not think of anything to do to actually carry this on, so I was left to plan it for about a month and then write it up for less than 7 days. It may seem repetitive and I'm sorry but it can't be avoided, I seriously may want to re-do this at a later date. But for now, please read and offer what you think.**

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"Oh no" Fili's eyes were wide as he pushed Kili lightly behind him and crouched onto the floor, attempting to pick up the large fragments and only managing to harm himself.

Bilbo nearly shouted at the dwarves for destroying one of his most prized possessions before he realized that red was spilling on the floor.

It was blood.

_Fili's_ blood.

"Oh goodness, oh goodness" he repeated over and over, hands hovering over the blood and then the plate and then Fili's hands which were bleeding profusely.

"Master!" Fili was on the verge of tears, as was his brother who remained rooted to the spot half a metre away, "Please, allow me to clean! Please, please!" he moved to pick up the remnants of the crockery but his hands were batted away by his Hobbit Master. Baggins rushed hastily into another room and picked out the supplies he needed and returned in record time with bandages and cloths. Fili and Kili's eyes went as wide as saucers

"Away! Away from the plates!" Bilbo said, alarmed to see that they were moving to the broken shards despite his orders not to "You'll hurt yourself!" Bilbo acted quickly, he brushed the shards quickly into a corner of the room to clean up with later and turned to the dwarves, eyes softening as they recoiled. He noticed how Fili subtly stepped forwards to protect his sibling, talking before the other did. Bilbo noticed how the older brother always seemed to speak before the other had a chance. He was curious why he did that. Protection? Fear? It was unusual behaviour for brothers as close as these two.

"We're sorry Master, we're sorry, we didn't mean to. We promise not to do it again, we promise not to do it agai-" Fili was cut off by Bilbo laying a small, gentle hand on his shoulder,

"It's okay. It's okay" Bilbo whispered, as calm as one could when their heart was hammering against their ribs, nudging him to the couch by the fire and sitting him down before kneeling in front of him, holding out his palms and ignoring how Kili shuffled behind him, peering over his shoulder to check what he was doing "Your hands, can I look at them?" Fili flinched, bringing his hands a little closer to his almost bare chest.

"Y-You don't have to Mast-"

"Hands." Bilbo said sternly, tone relaxing as Fili's blue eyes widened "Please, Fili. Just let me see them. I _need_ to see them." The blonde dwarf looked as if he was expecting another blow once he finally offered out his bleeding hands. Bilbo gratefully took them, with a stifled sigh, with such gentleness it reminded him of when his mother would do the same. The cuts on Fili's dirtied hands were clean but thankfully not deep. Beside him was a small bowl of water and he dipped a cloth inside before gradually cleaning the cuts, wincing when Fili's breath hitched. He left the blood-soaked towel into the bowl and bound the hands in fresh, clean bandages.

"There we go" Baggins said, patting Fili's arm softly and forcing a small smile "All done." He paused when the dwarf didn't look up "Are you alright, Fili?"

"Why are you treating us like this, Master?" the older dwarf whispered. Bilbo blinked in something that could only be described as shock

"What?"

"Like this? Why are you treating us like equals? We're nothing but slaves." Bilbo eyes the brothers calmly. In all honesty, he didn't know. _Why_ was he actually treating them like he was? Why did he feel the need to buy them, take them into his home and feed them? Treat the like they were nothing less than guests? In all honesty, he had no idea. When he had first saw them, he had just felt _pulled_ towards them. Fili's questions remained unanswered; instead, Bilbo remained silent as he delicately picked up the large shards of crockery, inspecting them in the light of the afternoon invading from a nearby window.

"Master, please, let us fix it-" Kili began

"It's fine, I can repair it" Bilbo interrupted, turning to them and offering a small, warm smile.

_It can be repaired._

"But-"

"_I _will repair it, Fili" Bilbo said, rubbing his eyes in more of exhaustion then exasperation.

"Y-Yes Master…" the blonde mumbled forlornly, looking at his feet again, his brother mimicking his actions.

"Bilbo."

"Master?" Fili blinked at the smaller male

"Call me Bilbo, please." The young one's eyes were almost pleading; much like Fili's when he begged for him to take his brother "None of this 'Master' business, please."

"Yes… _Bilbo_" the name lolled off Fili's tongue and he seemed to roll it around his mouth, testing it, a grimace following. The Baggins nodded gratefully. They were bathed in silence, apart from the crackling of the dying fire when a fearsome yawn ripped itself from Kili's lips, which was covered quickly.

"Oh! You must both be tired." Bilbo said, mentally beating himself. He was a Baggins! He should be doing so much better than this!

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"I can show you to your room, if you want?"

Both Fili and Kili exchanged shocked glances at that. Not only were they allowed to stay inside this warm house, but they got a _room_? This was too good to be real. Perhaps they were being tested by their new Master? Or Bilbo even? Maybe he was testing if they would misbehave or break the rules so he could punish them…? But Mast- _Bilbo_\- didn't seem like the sort of hobbit who would do that. He had treated them kindly so far.

He had made them feel more at home than any of their previous masters had. He never shouted at them. Never called them names like '_Dog_' or '_Bitch_' or '_Whore_'. He had not beaten them until they could no longer scream or cry. He had not left them in the cold outside, not even lay a finger on them!

No, he had brought them into his home. He had released them from their bonds and allowed them to sit in _chairs_. He fed them the best meal they had had in decades. And even though they had accidentally broken one of his plates and forgotten to clean up after themselves, he had stayed calm and collected. He had wrapped up Fili's cuts and wrapped them in bandages.

"Uhm… Please. Ma-" A critical look "-Bilbo."

Maybe, just _maybe_, the brothers finally had something nice coming their way.

Right?

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Bilbo didn't know why he was shaking slightly when he walked to the spare room, the brothers padding quietly behind him. Perhaps it was just the shockwave of everything coming back to bite him on the backside? Most likely.

"Erm… You'll have to share a bed." He quipped, cursing that his voice shook "I'm not sure if it'll be big enough for the both of you, it should but I'm sure something can be arranged if it isn't." He arrived at the spare bedroom that was 3 doors down from his.

His hand hovered over the door handle. He nearly retracted it. It had been so many years since he had been in that room. It used to be his Mother and Father's bedroom. After their…passing, he refused to go anywhere near it, even doing as much as running past it to avoid the urge to look inside. And yet here he was now, offering it to two dwarves after so many years of it being otherwise untouched.

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_"Mama?" small hands gripped at the sheets covering the bed as another clap of thunder lit the room in a fiendish glow._

_"Bilbo?" Belladonna Baggins eyed her son with worry "What are you doing out of bed?" Another wallop of lightning, louder this time, making the tiny Baggins jump and scurry quickly under the duvet, slotting himself in his mother's side._

_"The thunder, mama, I don't like it" Bilbo whispered, covering his tear stained cheeks_

_"Hush, my child" his mother cooed, stroking his curled locks "Mama is here. Mama will protect you from the lightening" Blue eyes, almost drowning in tears, stared up at the female Took "Mama will always be here to protect you."_

_"Always?" A kiss to a soft forehead._

_"Always, my child."_

* * *

_You lied._

"Bilbo?" A voice said in his ear, so familiar to his mothers, and he blinked, realizing he had lost himself in his thoughts and was merely standing in the –surprisingly open- doorway, Fili and Kili behind him, shuffling from foot to foot.

"Oh. Right. Yes, sorry" Bilbo apologized, shaking _those_ kinds of thoughts out of his mind. He walked inside; looking around the room and feeling his throat constrict slightly but coughed it away. No point breaking down in front of his guests. "It isn't much but it will do, I hope. Is this alright for you both?" Bilbo turned, watching the pair behind him. Both had wide eyes as they stared intently at their new surroundings.

"It's perfect." Kili breathed

"Thank you." Fili finished, looking alarmingly close to tears.

Bilbo nodded, clasping his hands behind his back and bouncing at the balls of his feet.

"There's a bathroom through that door over there, you may bathe yourself there as well. There should already be towels there; however I don't think there are any clothes that will be able to fit you in the house. My room is a few doors down the corridor in case you need me during the night. If you need me later in the day, however, you'll be able to find me elsewhere in the house or garden. You should be able to find your way back." He looked at the brothers once more before nodding and deciding to make his leave. Kili and Fili thanked him a dozen more times as he left and he did his best to wave them all off with a smile.

Bilbo closed the door behind him, leaving it slightly ajar should he need to hear anything later, before he travelled back into the living room to sort out the mess across his carpet and floor.

The rug in front of the fireplace had small blotches of blood here and there that would be a nightmare to get out, but thankfully not impossible. He rolled it up and propped it against a wall to deal with another time before he picked his way through the broken plate forlornly. He ran his fingers over the pattern, careful not to cut himself, and felt tears in his eyes.

He covered his face with his hands as he exhaled a shaky breath.

_It was only a plate._

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**Little bit longer than the last 2 chapters for you :) Again, sorry for the wait and bad-ish chapter. I just really wanted to get this out of the way and over and done with.**

**Anyway, if I don't see you before, Merry Christmas to you all and hope you guys have a Happy New Year! See you soon, if not, in 2015! *hug* **


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